Selvage trimming machine



Nov. 20, 1934. F. R. PIPER SELVAGE TRIMMING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 9, 1931 NOV. 20, 1934. R p p v 1,981,191

.SELVAGEI THIMMING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Nov. 20, 1934. F. R. Pm 1,981,191 v SELVAGE TRIMMING MACHINE Filed. Dec. 9, 193,1 5Sheets-Sheet 4 *1 Q Q a E 1 m a Q Q 2% Q1 Jwoemtoc I 9 Nov. 20, 1934. R, HPER 1,981,191

SELVAGE TRIMMING MACHINE Filed Dec. 9, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Nov. 20, 1934 UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE SELVAGE TRIMMING MACHINE Application December 9, 1931, Serial No. 579,937

13 Claims.

This invention relates to a selvage trimming machine. More particularly, it relates to a machine for trimming the loose threads which are found hanging from the selvage'edges of a web of fabric after the same has come from the loom. It is a primary object of the invention to sever such threads as closely as possible to the selvage edge without cutting or damaging the same.

19; In weaving many types of fabrics, and particularly in the manufacture of toweling, the loom leaves a number of loose threads hanging from the selvage edge of the fabric. This is particularly true when different shuttles each I carrying different colored weft threads are alternately employed. After one shuttle has been used for a predetermined period of time and is then taken out of use, it leaves a loose thread along the selvage edge, and when this shuttle is 20; again thrown into operation, the end of this threadis again woven into the fabric. Consequent- 1y, a loop of loose thread is left hanging from the selvage edge equal in length to the amount of fabric woven while said shuttle was in inoperative position. When a plurality of different shuttles carrying different colored yarns are used alternately, there will be many loops hanging from each selvage edge. vIn addition, many other loose threads are found hanging from each selvage when the web of fabric leaves the loom.

These facts are well known to those skilled in the art, and, although a number of machines have been designed for the purpose of severing these selvage loops and trimming off the selvage threads, this work is at the present time done, almost entirely, by hand labor at a considerable expense to the manufacturer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an entirely automatic machine which will trim all loose threads hanging from the selvage edges of a web of fabric. Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a machine of this type which is extremely high speed in its action, and which will do the work for which it i5 is designed more accurately than it can be done by hand labor.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a machine which is adapted to operate selectively upon different fabrics of different widths to trim simultaneously the two selvage edges thereof.

It is a further object to provide a machine in which one of a pair of trimming mechanisms is adjustable with respect to the other to vary the space therebetween so as to accommodate different fabrics of different widths, and to compensate for the varying width of a particular fabric being fed through the machine.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a machine. of the class described with a movable fabric support, so that an edge thereof may be moved longitudinally along an elongated cutting blade while said edge is being led transversely across the blade to be trimmed thereby.

It is a further object of the invention to mount the cutting blades of the machine in housings which are attached to exhaust conduits, to cause a current of air to pass over the selvage edge, past the cutting blades into'each housing, and outwardly throughthe conduit. This arrangement is for the purpose of drawing or leading selvage threads into the path of said cutting blades, and for conveying the severed threads away from the machine through the exhaust conduit.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means for guiding the web of fabric into the machine so that one selvage edge thereof is aligned with a fixed cutting mechanism in the machine, and to provide. means, as aforesaid, 30. whereby a movable cutter may be brought into proper trimming relation'to the other selvage edge of the fabric and constantly maintained in such position in spite of slight variations in the width of the fabric.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown an embodiment of the present invention which is designed to accomplish the several objects stated above.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention and shows a specific form of a fabric guiding mechanism which may be used in combination therewith;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine;

Fig. 3 a longitudinal sectional elevation taken on lines 3--3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the machine taken on lines 4 -4 of Figs. 2 and 3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of one of the cutter housings and associated parts;

Fig, 6 is avertical sectional view of the movable cutting mechanism;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view showing the specific relation of cutter housing, rotary blade, stationary ledger blade, and vertically movable guard plate;

Fig. 8 is a front elevational view, partly broken away, of a specific form of fabricguiding mechanism; H

Fig. 9 is a sectional View of said uiding mechanism taken on lines 99 of Fig. 1.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views, a fabric guiding mechanism for the machine is represented generally at A. From this mechanism, the fabric is drawn to the trimming machine B by means of positively driven weighted drawing rolls C, and the fabric is discharged therefrom over the delivery reel D. V Considering first the construction of the selvage trimming machine per se, it will be seen that a suitable supporting frame is provided, comprising uprights 10, side members 11, and cross members 12. Extending transversely across the machine, and supported at their respective ends in the side members 11, are a plurality of cross bars 13, which are preferably circular in cross section. Adjustable fabric supporting and Y delivery roll D is journaled in bearings mounted on horizontal struts 16 extending rearwardly from the supports 15 and maintained in horizontal relation by inclined braces 17.

Each selvage thread cutting mechanism of the present invention includes a number, of parts, As shown in Figure 5, I provide a housing 18 having a rearwardly opening side connected to an exhaust conduit 19. The housing, as shown in the drawings, is provided with three chambers, and each chamber has a rotary spiral cutting blade disposed therein. In view of the fact that my invention contemplates the'use of one or more of such chambers and spiral blades, I will describe the specific construction of only one of them. The housing has a front face 20 provided with an opening disposed toward the selvage edge 21 of the fabric. A fixed ledger blade 22 is secured to the front face of the housing, and is disposed in cutting relation to the blades 23 of the rotary cutter 24. The ledger blade, it will be noted, serves to close substantially one half of the opening in the front face of the cutter housing. Substantially all of the remainderof said opening is closed by a movable plate 25 which is shown in the drawings as being mounted adjacent the front face of said housing by a dove-tail connection comprising a rib 26 on the back of the plate slidably mounted a complemental groove 26a, in the housing face. The plate 25 performs the function of defining an aperture through which a draft of air is drawn when an area of depression is created in the exhaust conduit 19. Selvage threads are adapted to be drawn by this draft of air through the aperture defined by said plate 25 into the cutting line ,of the. blades 22, 23, and the severed threads are drawn around the spiral cutter 24 and out of the machine through the conduit 19. i

Referring to Figures 3 and 6, it will be seen that I provide the movable plate 25 with a cutaway portion or aperture 27, and the upper and lower halves of the plate above and below.

the said aperture are joined together by the dove-tail rib 26 on the back of the plate.

The specific relation of the spiral cutting knife 24, the stationary ledger blade 22 and the several chambers of the housing 18 is important. Referring to Fig. '2', it will be noted, that the shaft 24a upon which the spiral cutter is fixed, is offset from the axis of the chamber 18min which it is disposed, and the cutting edges of the spiral blades 23 are eccentric to interior walls of the chamber. The cutting edges of the blades 23 extend outwardly a slight distance beyond the front face 20 of the cutter housing and the ledger blade is provided interiorly with a beveled suface 22a, with the margin of which the spiral cutters have a line cutting contact. The ledger blade and the portion 26 of the reciprocating plate 25 serve as a means for spacing the selvage from this cutting line and the parts are so proportioned that the space is equal to the thickness of the blade at the marginal edge of the beveled portion thereof.

A cutting mechanism of this type is desirable for the reason that there is no tendency for the blades occasionally to out the selvage of the fabric. The selvage cannot readily be drawn inwardly further than the outer face of the ledger blade, and therefore cannot come in contact with the cutting line because this line is spaced inwardly from the outer face of the ledger blade a distance corresponding to the thickness of the beveled, or pointed edge of the ledger blade.

The eccentric mounting of the spiral blade is desirable because it leaves a space between the cutter and the housing through which the severed threads may be discharged.

The fabric passing through the machine is supported by a movable fabric support which is adapted to reciprocate the web of fabric vertically in unison with the reciprocation of the plates 25 sothat the selvage edge of the fabric is constantly maintained in registry with the apertures 27 therein. This fabric support comprises a pair of horizontal bars 28 supported at their ends in appropriate brackets 29, which are fixed on rods 30. The latter are slidably mounted for vertical reciprocating movement in appropriate guides 31 secured to side frame members 11. The lower ends of the rods 30 are pivotally connected to cranks 32 which constitute extensions of followers 33 surrounding eccentric 33a. The eccentrics'are mounted on retating shafts 34 which rotate in unison through a sprocket chain 36 trained around sprockets 35 on the ends of the shafts. The means by which the plates 25 are caused to reciprocate in unison with the fabric supporting bars 28 will now be described.

A pair of yokes 37 extending upwardly a substantial distance above the rods 28 are mounted thereon, and receive vertical reciprocating movement therefrom. From, the upper horizontal portion of each yoke 37, a plurality of metallic straps 38 project downwardly and. are attached to the upper ends of the various plates 25. Consequently, the plates 25 are operatively connected to the fabric supporting bars 28 through the straps 38 andyokes 37, and receive reciprocating movement in unison with said bars. Because the apertures 27 in the plates 25 are in substantial horizontal alignment with the upper surfaces of the fabric supporting bars 28, they will be maintained in constant registry with the selvage edge of the fabric as the parts reciprocate.

In the machine of my invention, one of the cutting mechanisms is mounted for movement toward and away from the other cutting mechanism so that the space between the cutters can be changed to accommodate different fabrics of different widths and can be adjusted to compensate for the varying width of a particular fabric being fed through the machine. A specific embodiment capable of performing this function will now be described.

The cutting mechanism shown in Figure 6 and at the upper portion of Figure 2 comprises a housing 18 which is slidably mounted on the four cross bars 13 previously mentioned. It should be noted that the yoke 3'7 associated with said cutting mechanuism is provided with end pieces 39, which are slidably mounted on the fabric supporting bars 28 so that said yoke can slide on said bars and move with the cutter housing 18 with which it is associated. A plurality of screw threaded bars are journaled in appropriate bearings in the side members 11 for free rotation therein. These bearings, however, are designed to prevent longitudinal movement of said threaded rods with respect to the frame members. Any appropriate construction of bearing may be used. The rods 40 extend through openings in a part on the housing 18, and these openings are provided with internal threads adapted to cooperate with the threads on the rods. The outer ends of the rods 40 are provided with sprockets 42, and the several sprockets are interconnected by a sprocket chain 43 so that they will move in unison to impart rotation to the several rods. Any appropriate means may be provided for imparting movement to the sprockets 42, and in the specific embodiment shown in the drawings, I provide a hand wheel connected through a pair of gears 44 and a stub shaft 45 to a sprocket 46 about which the chain 43 is trained. Rotation of the hand wheel imparts rotary movement to the threaded shafts 40 which then act as feed screws to slide the movable cutter housing and its associated parts on the bars 13 either toward or away from the stationary cutting mechanism disposed at the opposite side of the machine.

The cutter housings 18, as stated above, open rearwardly into exhaust conduits 19. These conduits lead to a suitable source of suction, such as a conventional centrifugal air pump, or the like, not shown. In order to permit the movable cutter housing to be constantly in communication with said source of suction, I provide the conduit 19 connected thereto with a U-shaped section 19a having the lower end thereof extending under the machine in telescopic relation to a section 19b which extends in a parallel line to the conduit 19 leading from the fixed cutter housing. A supporting bracket 190 is secured at one end to the movable housing and at the other end to the lower half of the U-shaped section. The telescopic joint 19d is mounted on one of the side frame members 11 immediately below the movable housing 18.

Power is transmitted to the various moving parts of the machine of my invention from a suitable source, such as an electric motor 4'7, to a rotatable shaft 48 supported in suitable bearings secured to the side members 11 of the frame. This shaft 48 is provided with an elongated driving drum 49 about which is reeved a belt 50. The belt 50 is led around and transmits power to a pulley 51 secured to the lower end of the shaft 2411 which carries the first rotary spiral cutting blade 24 in the movable cutter housing. The

elongated drum 49 permits the position of belt 50 to be changed transversely of the machine to cent rotary cutter shaft 54. The opposite end,

of this shaft is provided with a pulley 55 which likewise transmits rotary movement to the next adjacent spiral cutter shaft 56, through a pulley 57.

The driving means for the rotary spiral cutters in the fixed cutting mechanism is substantially the same as has been just described. In this case, however, rotation is transmitted from the shaft 48 by a pulley 58 secured thereon through a belt 59, etc. 7

One end of the shaft 48, outside of the frame 11, is provided with a small pulley 60 which transmits rotary motion to a large pulley 61 on a shaft 62 extending transversely between the upright frame members 10 which carry the weighted drawing rolls C. This shaft 62 is provided with a worm 63 which is adapted to drive a worm wheel 64 suitably journaled in the frame and connected by a shaft 65 and gears 66 to the shafts 34, carrying the eccentrics 32 previously described. Thus, slow rotary motion is transmitted from the shaft 62 through these parts to the eccentrics 32 for the purpose of slowly reciprocating the fabric supporting bars 28, the yokes 3'7, and the aperture defining plates 25.

The fabric is drawn through the machine by the positively driven drawing rolls C which receive power from a sprocket 6'7 on the end 0 shaft 62 through a chain 68.

In the operation of my machine, [it is necessary that the fabric be guided thereinto in definite relation to the two cutting mechanisms, and one end thereof must be carefully aligned with the fixed cutting mechanism. The movable cutting mechanism can then be adjusted so as to bring the cutting blades into proper relation to the other edge of the fabric, and by suitable manipulation of the hand wheel, the movable housing can be made to compensate for minor variations in the width of the particular web of fabric passing through the machine. In order to accurately align one edge of the web of fabric with the fixed cutting mechanism, I prefer-.130 use a guiding mechanism such as is represented generally by reference character A in Figure 1, and shown in detail in Figures 8 and 9. This guiding means comprises an inclined board '70 secured to supporting members '71 and maintained in inclined position by uprights 72. On. the face of the board 70, a fixed guide 73 is provided, and it will be noted from a consideration of Figure S'that this guide is slightly inclined with respect to a central longitudinal line. A movable guide 74 may be secured in any desired position to the board by means of appropriate clamps 75 slidably mounted in slots '76 in the board 70. A cross bar 78 is mounted in spaced relation to the board 70 and extends thereacross in parallel relation thereto. An antifriction roller 79 may be mounted at the top of the guiding mechanism and appropriate adjustable tension bars 80 may be secured to the uprights 72.

Fabric, such as toweling or the like, is laid in laps at the base of the guiding mechanism. It

is fed under the cross bar 72 to assure its cooperation with the guide bars 73, '74. The movwith the stationary cutting mechanism in the selvage trimming machine, one edge of the fabric will always be correctly spaced with relation to said fixed cutting'mechanism.

In the operation of the machine, after the fabric has left the guiding mechanism and is being fed to the machine, it will pass between the pair of tension bars 14 shown at the right end of Figure 3 and thence over the fabric supporting bars 28, past the trimming knives. It 'is then drawn downwardly under the tension bar 14a and over the tension bar 1429 to the drawing rolls C and discharged over the delivery reel D. It should be'noted that the tension bars 14 and 14a must be no higher than the lower limit to which the fabric supporting bars 28 may descend, or otherwise the fabric would not be supported by them at their lower limit of movement and the selvage edges would not be maintained in registry with the openings 27.

As has been previously described, a partial vacuum is created in the conduits 19 which causes a draft of air to be drawn through the apertures 27 into the cutter housings 18. This 'draft leads the loose threads and loops hanging from the selvages of the fabric into the apertures 27 and into the cutting line of the blades 22, 23 where the threads are cut and carried off.

'It is essential to the satisfactory operation of the machine to have the fabric constantly moved longitudinally of the elongated cutting edges so as to constantly present the threads to a different point on the cutting knives. This reciproeating movement of the edges of the fabric with respect to the cutting knives is advantageous for speedy operation of the machine because, in

the first place, it prevents the knives from becoming dulled at any one point, and also because successive threads are presented to different points on the knives so that a sufficient time 15 provided for the removal bythe draft of air of previously severed threads. In this way, the knives do not have to cut more than one thread at one particular point at one particular time. The advantages of using a plurality of cutting knives in each cutting mechanism are many. Selvage loops are often relatively tight and lie quite close to the selvage edge. The air draft causes them to be stretched outwardly a slight amount from the edge, and the first knife which they encounter serves to cut out only a short section of each loop. If only a single knife were used, relatively long threads would be left on the selvage instead of the selvage loops. In the present machine, however, when the severed loops encounter the second and third knives, they are drawn outwardly to substantially right angles with the selvage edge and are completely trimmed off close to the edge. Thus, the first knife functions to sever the loops, and the subsequent knives trim off the resulting hanging threads.

I claim:

1. A selvage trimming machine comprising means for feeding a web of fabric through the machine, a cutting mechanism having vertically disposed cutting blades adjacent an edge of said fabric, and a fabric support, said fabric support comprising spaced horizontal bars extending transversely of the line of travel of said said'aperture in said plate is constantly maintained in registry with said selvage edge while said fabric is reciprocated along the cutting edges of said blades by said fabric support.

2. A selvage trimming machine comprising means for feeding a web of fabric through the machine, a cutting mechanism having vertically disposed, elongated cutting blades adjacent aselvage edge of said fabric, and a fabric support, said fabric support comprising spaced horizontal bars over which said fabric is stretched during its travel through the machine, said bars extending transversely of the line of travel of said fabric, said bars being mounted for vertical movement to change the relation of said selvage edge of said fabric to said cutting blades, a vertically movable plate adjacent said cutting blades, said plate having an aperture registering with said selvage edge of said fabric through which selvage threads may be drawn into cutting relation to said blades, said plate being connected to said spaced bars to be moved vertically therewith, whereby said aperture in said plate is constantly maintained in registry with said selvage edge while'the position of said fabric with respect to said blades is changed by movement of said fabric support.

3. A selvage trimming machine comprising a frame including side members, means for feeding a web of fabric through the machine in a path between said side members,' a plurality of fixed cross bars supported at their opposite ends in said side members, a stationary cutter housing fixed adjacent one of said side members, a movable cutter housing at the other side of said machine and slidably mounted on said cross bars for movement toward and away from said other cutter housing to vary the space therebetween, and a screw threaded bar extending *parallelto said fixed cross bars and having a threaded connection to a part on saidmovablc housing, whereby rotation of said threaded bar imparts sliding movement to said housing on said fixed bars to vary "the space between said two cutter housings to accommodate different fabrics of different widths, and to compensate for the varying width of a particular fabric being fed through the machine.

- LA selvage trimming machine comprising a frame including side members, means for feeda screw threaded bar extending parallel to said slide members and having a threaded connec-- tion to a part on said movable housing, whereby rotation of said threaded bar imparts sliding movement to said housing on said slide members to accommodate different fabrics of different widths, and to compensate for the varying width of a particular fabric being fed through the machine.

5. A selvage trimming machine comprising a frame including side members, means for feeding a web of fabric through the machine in a path between said side members, a plurality of fixed cross bars supported at their opposite ends by said side members, a stationary cutter hous ing fixed adjacent one of said side members, a movable cutter housing at the other side ofsaid machine and slidably mounted on said cross bars for movement toward and away from said other cutter housing to vary the space therebetween; a plurality of screw threaded rods extending parallel to said fixed cross bars and each having a threaded connection to a part on said movable housing, and mechanical means for rotating said screw threaded rods in unison to impart sliding movement to said movable cutter housing on said fixed bars to vary the space between said two cutter housings to accommodate different fabrics of different widths, and to compensate for the varying width of a particular fabric being fed through the machine.

6. A selvage trimming machine comprising a frame including side members, means for feeding a web of fabric through the machine in a path between said side members, a plurality of fixed cross bars supported at their opposite ends by said side members, a stationary cutter housing fixed adjacent one of said side members, a movable cutter housing at the other side of said machine and slidably mounted on said cross bars for movement toward and away from said other cutter housing to vary the space therebetween, a plurality of screw threaded rods extending parallel to said fixed cross bars and each having a threaded connection to a part on said movable housing, each of said rods having a sprocket on its outer end, a chain trained about said sprocketc and about another sprocket, said last mentioned sprocket being operatively connected to a controlling device, whereby rotation of said last mentioned sprocket is transmitted through said chain to said screw threaded rods in unison to impart sliding movement to said movable cutter housing on said fixed bars to vary the space between said two cutter housings to accommodate different fabrics of different widths, and to compensate for the varying width of a particular fabric being fed through the machine,

7. The combination with a selvage trimming machine comprising means for drawing a web of fabric through the machine, a fixed cutting mechanism for one edge of said fabric, and a movable cutting mechanism for the other edge of said fabric, of means for guiding said web of fabric to said machine, said means comprising a fixed guide adapted to align one edge of said web with said fixed cutting mechanism, and an adjustable guide adapted to be spaced from said fixed guide a distance substantially equal to the width of said web of fabric, said adjustable guide being elongated and being in clined toward said fixedguide and being adjustably mounted for bodily movement into contact with the adjacent edge of said web of fabric to force said first mentioned edge of said web of fabric into contact with said fixed guide to align the same with said fixed cutting mechanism, said movable cutting mechanism being adjustably mounted for movement into operative relation to said other edge of said web of fabric. 8. A selvage trimming machine, comprising a fixed cutter housing adjacent one side of said machine, and a movable cutter housing on the other side thereof adjustably mounted for movement toward and away from said fixed cutter housing to vary the space therebetween, means for drawing a web of fabric through said machine between said housings with aselvage edge thereof adjacent each said housing, and an:

fabrics of different widths, and may be adjusted to compensate for the varying width of a particular fabric being fed through the machine.

9. A selvage trimming machine comprising means for feeding a web of fabric through the machine, and a cutting mechanism disposed adjacent a selvage edge of said fabric, said cut-' ting mechanism comprising a housing having a side opening rearwardly into an exhaust conduit and an opposite side opening forwardly toward said fabric, a rotary spiral cutting blade in said housing, a stationary ledger blade secured to the front face of said housing in operative relation to said rotary blade and partially closing said forwardly opening side, anda movable aperture defining means mounted adjacent the front face of said housing and substantially completely closing said forwardly opening side thereof, said means having an aperture therein through which selvage threads are adapted to be drawn into cutting relation to said blades.

10. A selvage trimming machine comprising means for feeding a web of fabric through the machine and a cutting mechanism disposed adjacent a selvage edge of said fabric, said cutting mechanism comprising a housing, a rotary spiral cutting blade in said housing, a stationary ledger blade secured to said housing in operative relation to said rotary blade, and an aperture defining means mounted for vertical reciprocation with respect to said blades, said means having an aperture through which selvage threads are adapted to be drawn into cutting relation to said blades, and a fabric supporting means movable with said aperture defining means to maintain said selvage edge of said fabric in registry with said aperture.

11. A selvage trimming machine comprising means for feeding a web of fabric through the machine, and a cutting mechanismdisposed adjacent a selvage edge of said fabric, said cutting mechanism comprising a housing having a side opening rearwardly into an exhaust conduit, and an opposite side opening forwardly toward said fabric, a rotary spiral cutting blade in said housing, a stationary ledger plate secured adjacent the front face of said housing in operative relation to said rotary blade, a reciprocable aperture defining plate mounted adjacent the front face of said housing for vertical reciprocation with respect thereto, said plate and said ledger blade substantially completely closing said forwardly opening side of said housing, said plate having an aperture therein through which selvage threads are adapted to be drawn into cutting relation to said blades, and a reciprocating supporting means for said fabric adapted to reciprocate with said aperture defining plate to maintain said selvage edge of saidfabric in constant registry with said aperture therein.

12. A selvage trimming machine comprising, in combination, a vertically reciprocable fabric support, means for feeding a web of fabric through the machine over said support, a relatively ime movable cutting mechanism having an elongated cutting edge extending transversely of the plane of the web of fabric on said support, means for projecting .selvage tln'eads into said, cutting mechanism to a point on said elongated cutting edge, and automatic means for imparting reciprocating movement to said fabric support and the fabric supported thereon simultaneously while feeding the fabric through the machine to change the point on said cutting edge to which said threads are projected, said means for imparting reciprocating movement to said fabric support comprising a pair of vertically reciprocable members connected to said fabric support adjacent opposite ends thereof, a pair of spaced parallel normally rotating shafts, and mechanical connections between each shaft and two of over said support on a substantially horizontal plane, a cutting mechanism having an elongated cutting edge extending in a line substantially normal to the plane of said web of fabric, means for projecting selvage threads into said cutting mechanism, and automatic means for reciprocating said fabric support on a vertical line to move the selvage edge of said fabric longitudinally of said elongated cutting edge while feeding the fabric transversely thereof through the machine, said automatic means comprising reciprocable members connected to said support at opposite ends thereof, a normally rotating shaft and mechanical connections between said shaft and each of said reciprocable members to convert the rotary movement of the shaft into reciprocating movement in the members and the support. FRANK R. PIPER. 

